Printing machine



Aug. 18, 1931. c. E. GALE PRINTING MACHINE- Filed Feb, 4; 1930 v 11 Sheets-Shegt 1 A'ITORNEY Aug. 18 1931. c. E. GALE PRINTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 4, 1930 11 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR exam 2. 7 4.- d-M QQMLIQ ATTORNEY Aug. 18, 1931. c.' E. GALE PRINTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 4, 1930 ll Sheets-Sheet 3 v INVENTOR Ckdu 8. 5&2. BY 7 Q CAM/WW ATTORNEY C. E. GALE PRINTING MACHINE Aug. 18, 1931.

Filed Feb. 4, 1930 11 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR ad 2. 9

8M (Mk ATTORNEY Aug. 18, 1931. c. E. GALE 1,819,326

PRINTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 4, 1930 11 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR ATTORN EY 1931. a c. E. GALE 1,819,326

PRINTING MACHINE ll Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Feb. 4, 1930 INVENTOR 64441 8 5L4 45M ,Qauouep ATTORNEY 6.1 E. GALE PRINTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 4, 1,930

11 sums-snag; 7

INVENTOR BY CAM f Aug; 18, 1931. c; E. GALE PRINTING MACHINE l1 Sheets-Sheet v8 FiledFeb. 4, 1930 INVENTOR BY 8 Qk-MM ATTORNEY Au '18, 1931. c. E. GALE PRINTING MACHINE 11 Sheets-Sheet 9 -Fi1 ed Feb. 4. 1930 lNVENTbR BY 0.041 s. 34;

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ATTORNEY Aug. 18, 1931.- E. GALE 1,819,326

' PRINTING. MACHINE F1169 Feb. 4, 1950 11 sheets sheet 10 INVENTOR rl 1H1 lllllll III E ta l I n SM. QMM ATTORNEY Fatentecl Aug. 18, 1931 STATES UNETE CHARLES E. GALE, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO PNEUMATIC SCALE CORPORATION, LIMITED, OF QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MAS- SACI-IUSETTS PRINTING MACHINE Application filed February 4, 1930. Serial No. 425,796.

This invention relates to a printing press.

One object of the invention is to provide a novel and highly eflicient printing press for printing upon the uppermost sheet of a pile,

' and particularly upon the pages or leaves of a bound book.

I A further object of the invention is to provide a novel printing press for printing a customers name and a serial number upon each check of a bound check book and for printing the serial number upon the stub of the check.

A. still further object of the invention is to provide a novel and superior printing press which while adapted for use in printing upon the pages of a book may also be used with advantage for other printing purposes, particularly where it is desired to print in two colors.

With these objects in view andsuch others as may hereinafter appear, the invention consists in the printing press and in the various structures, arrangements and combinations of parts hereinafter described and particularly defined in the claims at the end of this specification.

In the drawings illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention, Fig. 1 is a per spective of the upper portion of the machine;

Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section illustrating the parts in printing position; Fig. 3 is an inverted plan of the chase; Fig. 4.- is a perspective illustrating one of the check books upon which the present machine is par- 3 ticularly designed to operate; Figs. 5 and 6 are details in inverted planand section respectively of a portion of the printing chase, to be referred to; Fig. 7 is a sectional plan of the driving mechanism employed in the present machine; 8 is a vertical sectional view illustrating the printing element in its retracted position; Fig. 9 is a cross sectional view on the line 99 of Fig.7; Fig. 10 is a detail in side elevation illustrating the compensating mechanism; Fig. 11 is a sectional detail illustrating the inking mechanism and its relation to the printing element; Fig. 12 is a detail in side elevation illustrating the operating mechanism for one of the printing elements; Fig. 13 is a detail of a locking device for locking the printing element illustrated in Fig. 12; Fig. 14 is a cross sectional detail illustrating the inking device, for the rear printing element; Fig. 15 is a detail in end elevation of the main inking device and distributing rolls; Fig. 16 is an end elevation of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 15 showing the mechanism for vibrating the dis tributing rolls; Fig. 17 is a plan of the operating mechanism for the inking rolls; Figs. 18 and 19 are details in side elevation illustrating the pawl clutch and associated mechanism for controlling the operation of the machine; Fig. 20 is a side elevation of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 17; Fig. 21 is a detail of a portion of the mechanism employed for registering and clamping the chase; Fig. 22 is a sectional view taken on the line22 22 of Fig. 21; Fig. 23 is a detail in side elevation illustrating the inking mechanism in operative position ready to apply the ink to the rear inking element; Fig. 24 is a sectional view illustrating the motor and associated driving mechanism; Figs. 25 and 26 are details in plan and side elevation respectively, of a. portion of the book registering mechanism to be referred to; Fig. 27 is a plan of the supporting platen equipped with adjustable mechanism for assisting in registering the book upon the platen; Fig. 28 is a side elevation of the platen illustrated in Fig. 27; Fig. 29 is an enlarged detail in section illustrating the registering ins upon which the book is mounted and t e mechanism for adjusting the same; Fig. 30 is a detail in plan of a modified form of platen and its supporting mechanism; Fig. 31 is a sectional detail on the line 3131 of Fig. 30; Fig. 82 is a side elevation ofthe platen and supporting mechanism shown in Fig. 30; Fig. 33 is an end view showing the frictional devices for controlling the adjustment of the platen; Fig. 34 is a view taken from the lefthand end of the platen and supporting mechanism shown in Fig. 32; Fig. 35 is a detail in longitudinal section of the chase holder and the numbering heads for numbering the stubs and the checks illustrating particularly the operation of bearers to be described; Fig. 36 is a cross-sectional detail on the line 36-36 of Fig. 35; and Fig. 37 is an end View looking at the right-hand end of the parts shown in Fig. 35 with a portion of the bearers shown in section.

The present invention is preferably embodied in a printing press particularly adapted for use in printing upon predetermined portions of the pages of a bound book in accordance with the method forming the subject matter of my co-pending application Serial N 0. 354,295. In accordance with such method the printing operation is performed upon the uppermost page comprising the body portion of the book, and then such page after having been printed upon, is turned to expose the next underlying page in a position to be printed upon, and during the printing operation the pages making up the body of the book are maintained in predetermined and registered position with relation to the printing element, whereby predetermined portions of each page may be accurately printed upon. This method finds particular utility in connection with the production of check books, bearing the customers name printed upon the face of each check, and in which each check and its stub has a serial number printed thereon.

Vhile in its preferred form the invention contemplates a printing press for printing upon the pages of a bound book, nevertheless certain features of the invention, as will be pointed out, may be used with advantage in a printing press for other character of print 1 ing. In general in the present machine provision is made for operatively supporting the book upon av platen in such manner as to maintain the superposed pages comprising the body of the book in predetermined relation to a printing element whereby to insure accuracy in the printing operation stantially uniform pressure to be employed during the printing operation to the end that uniform printing may be obtained. In its preferred form the invention contemplates the provision of means for accurately adj usting the position of the body of the book upon the supporting platen in order that the printing operation may be accurately performed upon predetermined portions of each page of the book. Provision is also preferably made for performing the printing operation in a manner which lends itself to the use of a plurality of colors.

Referring to the drawings, in the printing press illustrated therein, 10 represents a platen or supporting plate upon which the body of the book 12 to be printed is positioned by the operative, with the covers 14 of the book turned back, such a position being illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 4. The platen 10 is movably supported, as will be described, and provision is made for pressing it, together with the superposed leaves comprising the body of the book, upwardly at a predetermined time in each cycle of operation of the machine, to press the uppermost leaf or page against a printing element indicated generally at 20. The printing element may be and preferably will comprise a chase 22 in which the type may be set in any usual or preferred manner as by the usual blocks 23 and usual fastening devices or clamps 24. The chase 22 is removably secured in a framework or carriage 25 slidably mounted by tongue and groove connections in the side frames 26 of the main frame of the machine to thereby permit the chase to be slid into printing position overthe book supporting platen at definite intervals in each cycle of operation of the machine. Referring now to Figs. 7 and 8, the mechanism for actuating Gil the carriage 25 in order to slide it first into a position over the book supporting platen 10 to permit the printing operation to be performed, as the platen is lifted, and then into a position in which the book supported upon the book supporting platen is exposed so that the operator may turn the printed page and thus expose the next succeeding page ready to be printed upon. As illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8, the carriage 25 receives its motion from the crank 30 which is free to turn on the stud 32, and is attached to the hub of a sprocket 34. The sprocket 34 is driven by means of a chain 35 from a sprocket 36 fast on the main shaft 39. The crank 30 is provid-ed with a roll 40 operating in a slot 41 in a lever 42 pivoted upon the pin 43 secured in the main frame of the machine. The main drive shaft 39 is arranged to be driven from a motor 44, see the. detail illustrated in Fig. 24, through driving mechanism including the belt 45, clutch pulley 46, clutch 47 of any usual or preferred construction, and shaft 48 upon which the clutch pulley 46 is mounted. The shaft 48 is geared to the shaft 39 through a gear train including the pinion 50, gear 51, pinion 52, and gear 53. (See Fig. 8.) Provisionis made for operating the clutch 47 and also for operating a brake 49 for checking the rotating of the shaft 48 where the clutch is released, and as herein illustrated the brake 49 is arranged to. be operated by an arm fastened on the clutch rod 61, and the latter is provided with an operating handle 62 by which the clutch rod 61 may berocked to throw the clutch 47 in or out and simultaneously to release or apply the brake.

In order to perform the printing operation, provision is made as above stated for lifting the book supporting platen 10 at predeterion mined times in the cycle of operation of the machine and to thereby press the uppermost leaf or page of the assembled body of pages comprising the body portion of the book supported upon the platen, against the printing element 20, the latter having been moved as above described into its operative printing position over the platen. As herein illustrated, the book supporting platen 10 is provided with a plurality of depending bosses 64 having bores which receive supporting pins 66 by which the platen is guided in its vertical movement. The central boss 65 receives the main supporting plunger 68, the latter being guided in its movement in a suitable bearing (59 in a cross member 70 of the machine frame, and arranged as will be described, to be lifted to raise the platen by an actuating cam 72 upon the main shaft of the machine, and which is accordingly driven in timed relation to the mechanism for moving the carriage 25 into and from operative printing position. As herein shown, the movements of the cam 72 are transmitted to a cam roller 73 mounted upon the end of one arm 74 of a bell crank 75, the second arm 76 of which is connected by a link 77 to an actuating lever 78 pivoted upon a counter shaft 79 having bearings in brackets 80 bolted to the frame, as shown in Figs. 9 and 10. Then the cam depresses the cam roll 7 3, the actuatin lever 78 is thrown to the left, (Fig. 10) and provision is made under the control of the operator for connecting the actuating lever 78 with a toggle 82 to throw the toggle into a straightened position and thereby raise the plunger 68 to lift the platen 10, as above described, to perform the printing operation. The upper member of the toggle 82 is pivotally connected to a slide 83 connected, as will be described, to the platen 10.

Referring now particularly to Figs. 2 and 9, the slide 83 is guided in suitable slideways 84 secured to a cross member 85 of the ma chine frame, and the upper pivot of the toggle has bearings in bosses cast integrally with the slide as illustrated in Fig. 9. The slide V 83 carries a supporting bracket 87 for operatively supporting the book registering mechanism and also carries another bracket 88 upon which the major portion of a compensating mechanism, as will be described, is mounted. As a result, when the slide 83 is moved vertically upon the straightening or breaking of the toggle 82, the registering mechanism for the book, as well as the compensating mechanism for automatically com pensating for the decreases in thickness of the body portion of the book upon the platen as the leaves are turned, are moved as a unit with the platen. The movements of the slide as the toggle is straightened or broken, are transmitted to the platen supporting plunger 68 which is slidably mounted within and with relation to the slide, through the medium of a heavy coil spring 90 interposed between a collar 92 fixed to the plunger, by a set screw or otherwise, and the upper of two members 93, 94, forming a part of the compensating mechanism to be described, and which are moved upwardly by the slide. The desired compression may be adjustably maintained inthe spring by the retaining bolts 95, and nuts 96, as shown. In this manner a yieldable connection is afforded between the positive operation of the toggle and the movement of the platen in the printing operation, to compensate for the variations in the thickness of the pages of the book.

In order to control the printing operation, the operating lever is as above described controlled by the operator through the medium of the foot treadle 98 and pawl clutch, indicated generally in Fig. 10 at 99 and illustrated in detail in Figs. 18 and 19.

Referring now to Figs. 10, 18 and 19, the pawl clutch 99 is designed to connect the op. erating lever 78 with the toggle, so that when the operator has properly turned the preceding uppermost page of the book, exposing the next page ready to be printed upon, he may be releasing the foot treadle latch 98a, lower a latch memberinto the position illustrated in Fig. 18, from the position illustrated in Fig. 19, in which the latch member fits into a locking recess 102, formed in a steel plate 103, set into an arm 10 1, fast on the toggle shaft 79. Thereupon as the cam 72 rocks the operating lever 78 to the right, viewing Fig. 1-0, the toggle will be straightened. The latch member 100 is pivoted on the lever arm-78 and is connected by a link 108, with the end of the treadle lever 109, as shown in Figs. 18 and 19. The weight of the platen and associated parts breaks the toggle as the operating lever 78 and clutch member-100 are withdrawn or rocked to the left (Fig. 10)

under the influence of the cam 72 driving the completion of the cycle of operation of the machine, and the described operations are repeated as long as theclutch member 100 is held in the position illustrated in Fig. 18 I as long as the operator does not depress the foot treadle. When, however, the foot treadle is depressed, the operating lever 78 rocks idly back and forth with the clutch member 100 in its raised or disengaged position.

In order to insure uniformity in the character of the printing performed upon the different sheets comprising the body of the book, provision is made rendering the printing pressure substantially uniform, and in the illustrated machine provision is preferably made for compensating for the gradual diminution in thethickness of thebody of the book supported on the platen 10 as succeeding leaves or pages are printed upon and turned over, in order that the constant throw of the toggle 82 may perform the printing operation with substantially the same pressure. For this purpose provision is made for gradually raising the platen 10 with relation to the toggle so that the uppermost page of the book supported upon the platen 10 will be moved into substantially the same position with relation to the printing element at each cycle of operation of the machine. As herein shown a compensating mechanism is mounted upon the slide to be moved vertically therewith, and as shown in Figs. 9 and 10 comprises a pair of cooperating cam members 93, 94 provided with cooperating cam surfaces 113 arranged so that upon relative rotation of the cam members 93, 94, the upper cam member 93 will be raised with relation to the slide and to the lower cam member 94 in proportion to the degree of rotation. Provision is made for rotating the lower cam member 94 at each cycle of operation of the machine during which the plunger reciprocates, and. as herein shown this is accomplished by means of a pair of spring pressed pawl members 300, 301, mounted upon the ends of connected arms 302, 303, respectively, loose upon a shaft 304 journalled in suitable bearings 306 in an arm or bracket 88 bolted to the side of the slide 33. A ratchet wheel 110 provided with a large number of teeth is secured to the shaft 304 to rotate therewith in a position to be engaged by the pawls 300, 301, and the shaft is connected by bevelled gears 112, 114, one of which is secured upon the end of the shaft ahd the other formed integrally with the lower cam member 94, so that upon rotation of the shaft the cam member 94 is gradually rotated. The pawl arms 302, 303 are arranged to be retracted by a coiled spring 116 connecting the pawl arm 303 and a fixed part of the machine frame, and a stationary cam member 120 is bolted to the machine frame in a position to engage the end of the pawl arm 303 during the descent of the pawl arm with the plunger and platen after each printing operation, and as the pawl arm descends to a position corresponding to the lowermost position of the platen, the pawl arm is cammed to the left, viewing Fig. 10, thereby effecting rotation of the ratchet through the cooperation of the pawl 300. The second pawl 301 serves as a holding pawl. In this manner in each reciprocation of the platen corresponding o a printing operation the cam member 94 is revolved an amount corresponding substantially to the. thickness of one page of the book. In order to permit manual adjustment of the position of the shaft 304, and of the cams 93, 94, the extended end of the shaft 304 is provided with a knob 118, as illustrated in Fig. 9.

In practice the ratchet 110 maybe designed so that the movement of one tooth of the ratchet will operate to lift the platen and work supported thereon a distance corresponding to the maximum thickness of the pages or sheets of the work for which the machine is designed. The position of the coil spring 90, connecting as it does the pawl and the platen, enables 1116 platen to be raised variable lesser amounts than such maximum in the event that the particular page to be printed upon is of less thickness than the maximum thickness of the page above referred to.

In order that the body portion of the book may be accurately registered and also maintained in accurate register with relation to the printing element during the operation of printing upon successive pages of the book, to the end that predetermined portions of each page may be printed upon, the machine is preferably provided with registering mechanism illustrated in Figs. 2 and 10, and in detail in Figs. 25 and 26.

In one form of my invention as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 10, I have provided a pair of f1 bars 130 operatively supported to be capable of being slid up through preformed slots 132 in the body of the book, and which slots 132 may conveniently be formed in between the binding and the body portion in a position such as is illustrated in Figs. 2 and 10. The flat bars 130 cooperate with the walls of the slots 132 to definitely position the body of the book upon the platen and to permit succeeding pages as they are printed upon to turned over by the operator, while maintai ing the remaining pages in a registered p0. on, it being understood that the covers of the book are turned back before the body placed upon the platen with the slots 132 t d over the register bars 130.

strated in Figs. 2 and 10, and in detail in Figs. 25 and 26, the register bars 130 are each screwed upon a piece 136 having a slot through which the shanks of clamping bolts 140 extend. The head of each clamping bolt 140 is received within and is slidable in a transversely extended slot 142 in a cross piece 143 forming part of the bracket 8'? above referred to. As shown in 10, the bracket 87 is extended downwardly to and is bolted to the face of the slide 83, so as to move as a unit with the slide during the movement of the platen into and from printing position. From the description thus far and particularly by reference to Figs. 2f and 26, it will be apparent that either both of the register bars 130 may be adnstcd to position the book with relation to the ten and to the printing element. The trar 'se adjustment may be effected by slid ng the bols 140 laterally in the slot 142,

tain'the register bars 130 in their adjusted positions.

In Figs. 27 28 and 29 I have illustrateda modified form of register mechanism therein and which is shown as comprising a single pin 150 slidably guided within aligned holes in a top piece 152 secured by screws 153 to a yoke member 154, and in the lower portion of the yoke member 154 as illustrated in Fig.

iii

29. The pin is provided with a collar 156 secured thereto and a coil spring 158 is interposed betweenthecollar and yoke in a position to yieldingly maintain the pin in an elevated position. The yoke 154 is operatively supportedupon a cross piece160 the sides of which are received Within guideways formed in the yoke in a position to permit the yoke to slide transversely with respect to the cross piece 160. In order to permit accurate and fine adjustment to be made of the lateral position of the yoke 154, and consequently of the pin 150, a threaded rod 162 is provided, the ends of which are secured in threaded 5 holes in the yoke which is prevented from rotating by a set screw 163 (see F 1g: 27). A

knurled nut 165 is mounted upon the rod 162 and the nut is received within a slot 166 in the cross piece 160, so that as the nut is turned the cross piece being held stationary as will be described, effects transverse movement of the yoke by means of a threaded rod 162. This affords a simple and convenient adjustment ofthe lateral position of the pin 150. The cross piece 160 is adjustably secured to the bracket 170, and the latter is provided with a guide 172, which is arranged to slide in guideways in the upper surface of the bracket 87. In order to effect longitudinal movement of the bracket 170, and the parts supportedthereby, an adjusting bolt 174 is screwed into a threaded hole in the end of bracket 87, and is arranged to be turned by an operating knob 176. The pin 177 upon which the operating knob is mounted extends through a hole in a plate 180, secured to the face of the bracket 170, and a collar 182 formed upon the rod 174 is arranged to engage the rear face of the plate to rigidly securethe rod to the plate and consequently to the bracket 170, so that as theknob 17 6 is turned, the bracket 170 and the parts supported thereby may be moved lengthwise of the bracket 87, or lengthwise of the supporting platen upon which the body of the book is mounted. In this manner a convenient adjustment of the pin 150 lengthwise of the book-supporting .platen may be effected.

As illustrated in Figs. 27 and 28, provision is also preferably made in the illustrated machine for retaining the sides of the body of the book supported upon the platen, from lateral displacement, and for this purpose, as herein shown, a pair of side gauges are provided at each side of the platen.

The side gauges are herein shown as comprising bars mounted in bosses 192 attached to the outer ends of supporting bars 194. The bars 194 are mounted to be capable of reciprocation beneath the platen, being operatively supported in a groove in theunderside of the platen by brackets 196, as shown. The bars 194 are provided with pieces 198 each having a threaded hole throughwhich the threaded end of an adjusting screw 75' is extended. 7

The outer ends of the adjusting screws 199 are extended through holes in a'bracket 200 screwed to the side of the platen The ends: of the screws 199 are provided-with knurled knobs to facilitate the adjustment of the side gauges. between the bracket 200 and stop collars 202 secured to the screws to provide a friction for holding the screws in their justed positions.

In order to assist in holding the uppermost sheet of the pile of sheets comprising the body of the book in their operative posi- Coiled springs 201 are interposed different ad tion upon the platen, I prefer to provide a pair of spring fingers 210 which are screwed directly to the top of the bars 190 comprising the side gauges and-in operation function to yieldingly engage and hold the uppermost page of the body of the book being printed upon in a flat condition.

The springfingers 210 and. the bars 190.

are mounted in thebosses 192 to be capable of vertical movement, and afriction, member 214 is yieldingly urged against eachbar 190 by a spring 215in order to hold the bars 190' and fingers 210 in their different positions.

The fingers 210 are maintained in engagement with the top sheet of the pile comprising the body of the book by the engagement of the carriage 25 with the top of bars 190 each time that the platen is raised to perform a' printing operation, so that after a book has been completely printed, it is necessary for the operator to again manually raise the bars 190 and fingers 210 in order to slip the body of a fresh book underthe fingers in a position ready to be printed upon.

The printing element indicated generally at 20 is hereinshown as comprising the carriage 25 mountedin the frame of themachine, as has been described, to be capable of being reciprocated into and from operative printing position. As herein shown, the carriage 25 is provided with tongues 220 upon each side thereof arranged to slide in corresponding grooves in the side frames of the machine. as illustrated in Fig. 1. The carriage 25 is arranged tooperatively support the printing element in a position such as to perform the printing operation when the platen is raised. In the illustrated machine provision is made for printing a'number upon the stub of each check, for printing the customers name upon the face of each of each check upon the upper right hand corner of the face of the check, although it will be understood that in its broader aspects the invention contemplates a machine for use in performing; any sort of printing.

As illustrated in Fig. 3, the carriage is arranged to support a front numbering head 230 comprising a frame 232 within which a series of numbering mechanisms of known 8 construction indicated at 234 are operatively held within the frame by spacing blocks 235 and wedges 236. Each numbering head is arranged as is well known so that the number printed upon successive checks will comprise a series corresponding to the serial numbers of the checks. The frame 232 is locked within the head 230 by clamping screws 237. The head 230 is pivoted at 238 in order to permit the head to be swung into an inverted position to permit the numbering mechanisms to be inserted into the frame and clamped therein between the blocks and the wedges in the position illustrated in Fig. 3. The numbering mechanisms 234 operate during the operation of the illustrated machine to print the serial numbers upon the check stubs, and

such mechanisms have provision as is well known for changing the number at each cycle of operation of the machine so that successive serial numbers will be printed upon successive check stubs. The customers name is in the illustrated machine, printed by type 239 operatively supported within the chase 22 which is removably secured in the carriage,

as will be described, by spacing blocks 23 and wedges 24, and during the operation of the machine the type 239 operates to print the customers name upon the proper place on the face of each check.

In the commercial printing of the customers name and the serial numbers upon the checks, it may be desirable that the customers name be printed in one color and the serial numbers upon the face of the checks be printed in another color. For example,

" the customers name may be printed in black and the serial number in red, and rovision is made in the illustrated machine 'or printing the customers name in one color and for printing the serial number upon the face of the check in a different color.

In the illustrated machine, in order to facilitate the printing in two colors, the chase 22 is provided with a plurality of openings 250 through which the rear numbering mechanism is arranged to be moved, as will be de scribed, to effect the printing of the serial numbers upon the face of the checks. The chase 22 is itself removably secured to the carriage by a locking device comprising an operating handle 252 adjustably secured by a clamping nut 253 upon a rod 254, the lower end of which threads into a gib 256 for one side of the chase. It will be understood that after the type 239 has been set in the chase 22, the latter may he slid into position over the gibs 256, 258 the sides of the chase being beveled to cooperate with correspondingly shaped surfaces on the gibs 256, 258 so that thereafter by turning the operating handle 252 the movable gib 256 may be drawn up to hold the chase firmly in the carriage. In order to lock the operating handle 252 to prevent the gib 256 from being drawn up until tie chase has been slid completely into position, a locking member 260 pivoted at 262 and urged by a spring 264 into locking position, normally engages a notch 265 in the hub 266 of the handle 252 and is arranged to be disengaged to permit the handle to be turned, by engagement of the front end of the chase with a depending lug 268. As the chase is s id into position, the front end of the chase engages the lug 268 and turns the looking member 260 to move it from the notch 265.

The serial numbers upon the face of the checks are printed in the illustrated machine by a rear numbering mechanism 269 of known construction and which is mounted upon a rocking head 270 secured upon a counter shaft 272 journaled in bearings in the carriage 25 so that the head is slidable as a unit with the carriage and is also capable of rocking relative thereto. In order to permit the rear numbering mechanism 269 to be presented into an operative position with respect to the body of the book supported upon the platen, the chase 22 is provided with openings 250 therein, through which a portion of the rocking head 2'70 and the numbering mechanism 269 may extend to enable the numboring element toengage the page when the printing operation is to be performed, and the rocking head has been rockedinto its extreme forward position. The numbering head is preferably arranged to engage afrisket 275 attached to the underside of the chase during the printing operation as illustrated in detail in Figs. 5 and 6.

Provision is made for rocking the head 270 from its inoperative position in which the rumberingmechanism269 is withdrawn from the openings 250 in the chase, (such position being illustrated for example in Fig. 11), into an operative printing position in which the numbering heads extend through the chase, (such position being illustrated in Fig. 2), and as herein shown a stationary cam groove 290 formed in a bracket secured to the rear side of the machine frame and a cam roller 292 mounted upon an arm 300 is arranged to ride in the groove.

As the carriage is reciprocated in the manner previously described, and during the forward movement of the carriage into printing position, the cam groove 290 operates to oscillate the arm 294 and through the shaft 272 to which the arm 294 is secured, to cause the rocking head 270 to move into a position in which the rear numbering elements project through the openings inthe chase, so that when the platen is subsequently raised, the printing operation will be performed by the rear numbering mechanism to print the serial numbers upon the face of each check.

In order to take most of the pressure eX- erted by the operation of the toggle 82 through the spring 90 upon-the platen 10 so thatthe entire pressure with which the platen v is raised will not be directly borne by the type, bearing members 233, 235 are provided preferably at the front and rear of the printing element. As herein shown, and as illustrated in Fig. 36, the bearing member 233 comprises a block secured upon the under side of-the front numbering head 230. The bearer memher 233 is provided with a plurality of contact members 237 arranged to project beyond the under surface of the bearer block 233 and which are urged downwardly by springs received within holes 241 in the block, and the springs are retained under compression by a top plate 243 secured to the top of the bearer block, as illustrated'in Fig. 36. The rear bearer member 235 is herein shown as comprising a plurality of individual blocks 245 secured by screws directly to-the rear face of the head 270 which carries the rear numbering element 269. Each block 245 is provided with a contact piece 247 hung upon the lower end of a bolt 249, and the head of the bolt is received within a socket 251 in the upper central portion of the block 245. The contact piece 247 is urged downwardly by springs 253 which are received within suitable holes in the block 245, as shown, and operate to yieldingly hold the contact pieces 247 in their extended downward position.

With this construction, as will be apparent from an inspection of Figs. 35, 36 and 37 as the platen is raised upwardly through the operation of the toggle 82, as above described, the uppermost sheet of the body portion of the book or other pile of sheets to be printed upon is first brought into engagement with the contact members237 and 247 and by the operation of such contact members the uppermost sheet is held from movement during the continued upward movement of theplaten and the work. As the platen continues to be raised, the type is next engaged by the uppermost sheet and the impression made. By this time the contact members 237 will have been forced upwardly into the block until the lower face of the contact members are substantially flush with the under surface of the bearer member 233. Similarly the contact members 247 of the rear bearer members 245 will have been forced upwardly against the under surface of the blocks 245. The length of the bearer members 243, 245 is preferably such that after the platen has been raised sufiiciently to cause the type to sink into the upper surface of the paper an amount sufiicient to provide the correct character of printing impression, then further movement of the work by the platen is resisted directly by the bearer members themselves and the stress transmitted directly to the stationary parts of the chase holder. In this manner the type is protected against being subjected to the effect of continuously heavy pressures, thus contributing to the. efficiency and long life of the machine.

Provision is made'for locking the rocking head to the chase during the printing operaton, and for this purpose a pair of locking members 310 are arranged to be projected under clips 312 bolted to the carriage, by the movement of the cam roll 292 in the last part of its forward movement in the cam groove,- and as illustrated in I igs.12 and 13, after the rocking head 270 has been rocked into its operative position it is caused to engage and rest upon the bearing surfaces 297 upon the carriage 25, and the continued movement of the cam roll 292 in the last part'of the cam groove operates through the arm 301 to rotate an operating segment 316 at each side of the machine. Each operating segment 316 meshes with a rack 313 upon the forward end of which each locking member 310 is formed. A yieldable connection is aii-orded between the operating segment 316 and the arm 301 by a block 317 received within a slot in an arm 294 secured to the counter shaft 272, and the face of the slot is closed by a plate 320 yieldingly held against the block by springs 322 on retaining bolts 324, as shown in Figs. 12 and 13. The block 317 is pivoted to an operating arm-301 secured to the operating segment 316.

From an inspection of'Figs. 12 and 13, it will be apparent that during the last part of the forward movement of the carriage and after the rocking head has been brought down into printing position, the locking members 310 are advanced under the clips 312 in the manner described, and that upon the first part of the rear movement of the carriage the locking members are withdrawn from under the clips and then the rocking head is swung upwardly to withdraw the rear numbering mechanism from the chase.

In order to provide both the front numbering mechanisms 234 and the type 239 from which the customers name is printed, with ink, in the illustrated machine, a plurality of contact rollers 340 are yieldably mounted in the manner illustrated in Fig. 11 upon supporting rods 342 yieldingly lifted by springs 344 to cause the rollers to bear against the front numbering mechanisms 234 ing screw as shown in Fig. 11, to form a supply trough for the ink. Both the roller 347 and the plate 348 are mounted upon arms 350 mounted upon a counter shaft 352. The counter shaft is rocked to throw the supply roller 347 out of and into contact with the endmost of the distributing rollers 340 by a cam 354 and roller 355 mounted upon a cam arm 356 adjustably connected through the pin and slot connection 357 to an arm 358 secured to the counter shaft as illustrated in Figs. 15 and 16. A spring 359 tends to urge the roller 347 into inking position. Provision is made for holding the roller 347 out of contact with the end distributing roller 340 in order to permit the machine to be operated for test purposes, and as herein shown, a dog 360 pivoted at 361 on the machine frame is arranged to be capable of being thrown into an inoperative position such as illus trated in dotted lines in Fig. 15, to permit the ink roller 347 to move into and out of contact with the end roller 340 during the normal operation of the machine. When it is desired to lock the roller 347 out of contact with roller 340, then the dog 360 may be swung into the full line position, Fig. 15, where it engages an arm 362 fast to the rockshaft 352, thus preventing the roller 347 from coming in contact with the roller 340.

In order to maintain a uniform distribution of ink over the rollers 340, provision is also preferably made for vibrating the lower set of the distributing rollers 340, and as illustrated in Figs. 15 and 16, this is accomplished by a cam 365, cam roll 366, arm 367, and vertical shaft 368 having contacts 369 which engage the ends of the rollers.

As has been previously described the illustrated machine is designed to print the customers name on the face of the check in one color and to print the serial number upon the face of the check in a different color, and in the machine the front numbering mechanisms and the type in the chase are inked by one mechanism while the rear numbering mechanism is inked by a separate mechanism. The inking mechanism for the rear numbering head comprises a supply plate 370 upon which ink is supplied by hand. The ink sup ply plate 370 is formed upon the rocking head 270 and as it is moved back and forth as the rocking head is swung to move the rear numbering head into and from printing position, it is passed under an inking roll 375 and a distributing roll 376, both of which are carried by pieces 377 pivoted to curved arms 378 carried by a cross rod 380. The latter is secured between curved stationary arms 382. With this construction, at each reciprocation of the carriage 25, both the inking and distributing rolls 375, 37 6 roll over the plate 370 and then the inking roll passes over the rear numbering mechanisms when the parts are in the position illustrated in Fig. 23. In this manner the rear numbering mechanisms are inked. For some purposes I may prefer to embody in the machine the platen and the supporting mechanism therefor illustrated in Figs. 30 to 34, particularly where it is desirable to perform the printing operation in such manner as to produce printing impressions upon the different parts of the pages of the book of substantially uniform depth of impression or intensity. The individual sheets making up the body portion of a book, or other pile of sheets to be printed upon, vary in thickness as compared with each other, and also the different portions of each sheet vary in thick ness, and such variations .are cumulative in a substantial number of sheets making up the pile or book with the result that oftentimes one part of the body of the book will be substantially thicker than another part. In order that printing impressions of substantially uniform intensity may be obtained under these conditions, it is desirable that provision be made for compensating for such variations in thickness in the work and in printing check books, as above described, in order to print the customers name and the serial number on the check and the serial number upon the stub, it has been found that such variations are extremely common. For this purpose, as illustrated in Figs. 30 to 34, the supporting platen 10 is mounted to be capable of being conveniently adjusted and preferably tilted with respect to the printing element in both major directions, that is transversely and longitudinally of the platen. As illustrated herein, the platen 10 is supported directly upon an intermediate supporting member 400 by means of the depending lugs 402 ournalled upon .a pintle 404 secured in ears 406 upstanding from the intermediate supporting member 400 so that the platen 10 may rock or tilt about its longitudinal axis to compensate for unevenness in the printing pressure exerted upon those portions of the platen on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis of the platen. The platen 10- is preferably provided with a pair of depending plates 410 provided with slots 412 through each of which a threaded bolt 414 is extended. A friction member 418 is yieldingly held by a spring 420 and wing nut 422 in engagement with the plate 410 and operates to frictionally hold the platen 10 in different positions of lateral adjustment. The bolts 414 are mounted in arms 424 secured to and forming a part of the intermediate supporting member 400. The intermediate supporting member 400 is pivoted upon a pintle 426 journalled in cars 428 u standing from a supporting plate 430, tne latter being provided with the above described boss 65 for receiving the main supporting plunger 68, and the other details of construction of the machine may and prefer- 435lmounted upon a shaft 436 extended trans versely through and journalled in arms 438 forming the end of the supporting plate 430 and theeccentrio 434. is arranged to engage andsupport a contact plate 440 formed upon" the underside of the intermediate supporting member 400, as shown in Figs. 30 and 32. With this construction rotary adjustment of the shaft 436.which may be efiected by the knurled nut 442 upon the end thereof, raises and lowers the intermediate supporting mem-- ber 400 by causing pivotal movement thereof upon the pintle 426 and consequently tilts the supporting platen 10 in a general longitudinal direction. An adjusting screw 44A is arranged to engagethe shaft 436 to hold the eccentric in different positions of adjustment. From this description and by reference to Figs. 30 to 34, it willbe apparent that the relative position of the platen may be conveniently adjusted with respect to the printing element, so as to enable the different parts of the work to be printed with substantially the same intensity irrespectiveofvariations in the thickness of the book or other pile of sheets. -"VVhile in the illustrated machine the printing comprises both numbersandletters, it will be understod thateither or both may be utilized in the machine, and that while the preferred embodimentof the invention has. been herein illustrated and described, the in vention may be embodied" 'in' other forms within the scope of the following claims.

Having thusdescribed the invention, what,

'1 .JIn a machine for printing upon th pages'of a bound "book, in combination, a printing element, a supporting platen for supporting the body of the book to be printed, means movablewith'the platen for maintaining the body of the book in register with the printing element, and means for relatively moving the platen and printing element to perform the printing operation.

'2. In a machine for printing upon the pages of' a bound book, incombination, a platen for supporting the body of the book to be printed upon, a printing element, reg- "istering means movable with the platen 1ncluding a member adapted to extend through a preformed opening inthe book, and means for relatively moving the printing element and platento perform. the printing operation.

3. In a machine for printing. upon the pages of a bound book, in'combination, a printing element,a platen, means for relatively moving the printing element and platen for performing the printing opera g i printingelement, a platen for supporting a tion,4and' means i for automatically and relatively movingthe platen and printing element between successive vprintingoperations to compensate forjthe gradual diminution in the thickness of the body of the book as successive pages are printed upon and turned.

,4. In a printing. press, in combination, a

printing element, awork-supporting member capable of supporting a plurality of sheets in a pile,means for relatively moving the printing element and work-supporting member to perform the printing operation, and means for maintaining the individual sheets comprising the pile of sheets in a predetermined registered position upon the work-supporting member during the printing of successive sheets. I i

5. In aprinting press, in combination, a;

printing element, a work-supporting member capable. of supporting a plurality of sheets in a pile, means for relatively moving the printing element and work-supporting member to perform the printing operation, and means co-operating with the pile of sheets capable of adjustably positioning the pile with relation to the work-supporting member, for maintaining the individual sheets comprising the pile in registered relation to the printing element during the printing of successive sheets whereby predetermined portions of succeeding sheets may be printed upon. 7 p

6. In a printing press, in combination, a printing element, a work-supporting member capable of supporting a plurality of sheets in a. pile, means for relatively moving the printing element and work-supporting member to performthe prmtlng operat1on,a member movable with the work-supporting member during the printing operation and mounted to be capable of adjustment with relation thereto,;andcooperating with the pile of sheets for accurately positioning individual.

sheets comprising the pile in predetermined relationto the printing element and maintainingthesheets in such position during the printing ofsuccessive sheets.

' 7. In a printing press, in combination, a printing element, a work-supporting member capable of supporting a plurality of sheets in r holes in the sheets comprising the pile, and

means for permitting adjustment of the member both laterally and longitudinally of the work-supporting member to enable the sheets to be accurately positioned with respect to the printing element and maintained in such a position during the printing operation.

- 8. In a printing press, in combination, a 

